Is it me or are clothes getting more and more and more expensive?

[maggiethemagpie]

I'm sure compared to even five years ago clothes are FAR more expensive even allowing for inflation.

Eg White stuff knit dress going price around £45 five years ago, now £60-65

Per una padded coat I bought one four years ago for £100 saw similar last week in store £125

Seasalt which I consider to be a mid range brand selling cardis for £90 and they're not even cashmere just lambswool.

And don't even get me started on kids clothes, £24 for a cardigan for a 3 year old from Next????

I know some brands have always been expensive, but they've never been brands I've bought. I'm talking about your ordinary high street stores, that used to be reasonable but now I can't afford to shop there.

When I had my son 6 years ago I could afford to buy some new clothes along with some second hand but now most of the time I just put the new, full priced stuff back on the shelf and think 'they are havin a larf'

I can now only afford to shop at Sainsbury's Tu, which is questionable quality or wait til the sales and hope there is some good stuff left.

Anyone else?

I noticed this with shoes. Mine and DS' last shoes came from Sainsburys, DD's from TKMaxx. Clarks are a bit out of my price range just now.

Clark's are expensive but do good sales. Just got some boy's school shoes for £16. I seem to always have to wait for the sales with everything now!

I have noticed the same with Next. Looked in there for a Christmassy/party dress for 5yo dd and saw two I liked but at £34 and £38 there's no way I am paying that for high street that will only be worn a handful of times over Christmas. That's nearly as much as I'd spend on a dress for myself!

I'm not a huge fan of Next for boys clothes; they're expensive and no better quality than supermarket-brand clothing. For a similar price John Lewis' boys range is faultless and they seem to last forever, as do Joules (and their children's sales are often full of great stuff, not tat like the Next sales).

I noticed the opposite, but probably because I was looking at a larger timescale.

12-15 years ago (when I was a student), a vest top from TopShop cost £6 and that was a noticeable amount of money to me.

Now it still costs £6. But I don't think £6 is very much any more.

(I also don't shop in TopShop any more, but I have a quite specific memory of buying vest tops there so I could anchor the prices in my head).

Yep back in the 90s clothes were quite expensive IIRC. Then they went cheap. Now they are going back to expensive again.

Agree about Next - £24 for a girl's Christmas jumper!!

I really noticed the price of school uniform has gone up a lot this year. As for non school clothing and for me/DH I'm only going to be buying in the sales from now on!!

I think clothes have actually become more polaris d in price. There is no mid market anymore.

Next used to be good and the price reflected it. Now it's just full of tat, and it's prices have moved down market. I remember paying £50 for a pair of shoes there in the late 80s.

M and S is the same, full of polyester crap and prices cheaper than 1o years ago. I also remember buying a coat from Wallis 23 years ago. It was £84. They are cheaper than that in there now, and really horrid too.

Meanwhile Jigsaw and Whistles have become more expensive. The only mid market brand I can find these days is Cos.

They're more expensive than a few years ago but still loads cheaper than twenty years ago (like food).

My first "work suit" was £120 23 years ago (High St). I bought a new one this year that was £65 and it's equally well made.

Things do have to go up in price eventually.

Agree with Emoji, too.

I actually think some Next and M and S stuff is priced about right. But a lot of theirs and other brands are absolutely terrible quality.

Went in DP today. Horrific quality, terrible materials.

There isn't a mid price shops any more except for the slightly twee stuff like White Stuff and Fat Face. Some okay plain stuff in there but not for everyone and you couldn't get your whole wardrobe there.

The prices I can deal with if the quality matches, but it's getting rarer. I bought something I believed to be quality the other week and it has holes in already and It's been worn twice not even washed, it wasn't cheap, it's going back. I buy less stuff nowadays mainly because of awful quality, not the price.

Import prices dropped in the 90s so it feels like clothes prices haven't increased much for 20years. My first pair of jeans bought in 1993 (purple, high waisted, tapered, size 10, M&S) £20. Pair of jeans I bought last month from M&S, £24.
Not sure what is driving up the recent increases in prices but as PP said I wouldn't mind if quality was also improved.

I don't mind paying for well-made garments in natural fibres, but so much stuff these days is polyester at 100 quid a shot for a bog-standard shirt that it takes the fun out of looking.

As some posters have already said, it depends on your timescale. There may have been a recent increase but they're way cheaper now than they were 30 or even 20 years ago. You had far fewer clothes then, mostly British made.

I'd like to think it's because they've started paying the kids in the sweat shops that make them a decent wage. They all use sweat shops, or use suppliers that do, no matter how much they protest that they don't.

We all have far too many clothes anyway. Don't buy stuff if you think it's too expensive.

I'd like to think that too hereatnumber7 but I doubt it. I suspect that some shops overinflate thier prices so they can decrease them every so often to entice you to buy. I can't be asked with these price games so avoid places like Gap and Boden who seem to do this a lot.
I suppose we better get used to it because the value to the pound means imports will be more expensive.

I just sent back a White Stuff cardigan. I liked it, but was £45 and 100% synthetic. I'll pay good money for wool, but not synthetic.

It's declining quality that bothers me most.

And me. There is a sadly neglected area of middle market, which no one seems to aspire to.

All the high street shops have moved downmarket to compete with supermarkets.

Uniqlo and Cos have stepped in here. But I bet others could make a killing if they wanted.

I don't like Fatface/white stuff/Seasalt. These retailers produce products aimed at a very specific market, but at least they use natural fibres. But not everyone on the middle market area wants these types of clothes.

But when we paying higher prices in the 90s the fabrics were better. Wool, silk and cotton. Not much polyester around

I've been getting back into vintage all over again for this very reason: 100% wool, silk made in Macclesfield etc. Vintage velvet is also cotton based so much better than the horrible shiny stuff in the shops at the moment. You do have to like a good rummage though.

I also think it's interesting that some solid known brands have had consistent steadily increasing prices over the years and quality has not declined either.

I'm thinking Levi's (£45 late 80s/early 90s and now about £90?) and Doctor Martens (was £35 now £70 ish - shoes not boots).

MsU I think you're more likely to be correct

I agree MsU I am bored, bored, bored of hunting for discount vouchers or waiting for the inevitable 20% promotions. Either that or having to get the smartphone out for codes every time I'm at the till just so I'm not overpaying!!

Even with FF/White Stuff I've noticed the % of unnatural fibres creeping up. A few years ago all my long sleeved tops from there were 100% cotton and the last few I've bought are mixed with polyester/viscose.

The shiney velvet everywhere is velour. It's not velvet. Velvet is woven, but velour is stretchy. They are made completely differently

Proper velvet with a proper pile is expensive to make. Even in polyester.